The Never-Lasting First Impressions

You see someone for the First time…you make an impression in your mind…could be good or bad; positive or negative…And you carry on the assumed impression for long until…

Another day/time/moment, you witness a completely different side of that person and your mind debates…Nope! It can’t be…is this for real? The same person who seemed to be nice/proud; snob/humble; rude/polite; generous/selfish, helpful/inconsiderate, does not match your initial assumption.

Why do people draw inferences from the first sight? Is it because we have mental biases? Do we act upon our beliefs and values and to some extent, our culture? Perhaps, we tend to accept what confirms our beliefs and, ignore that contradicts our embedded judgments formed over the years. However, often such impressions may be misleading.

And, then we have painted impressions which are usually inflicted by those in limelight– such as favourite boss, admired friends, wannabe colleagues, spouse, family and so on. We believe what we are told instead of creating our own views. Would it be right to say that we are prejudiced by accepting what has been served on the platter- coz’ we do not want to offend those whom we admire. May be, we are too lazy to form an opinion.

Then, there is a need for societal acceptance. You may dislike a particular person/group/community because they don’t follow your ideology. You may not want to hang out with the group that loves to dance but stay with people who love to read…your claim could be that book lovers are intellectual kinds and others may be bit too casual. You would choose to eat a burger at a flashy, expensive restaurant rather than the usual eating joint; primarily because you have been socially influenced.

Often we like to associate ourselves with things/people/thoughts that are popular and well-accepted. We become judgmental and when life throws another opportunity to know that person, you are simply flabbergasted. Your previous biases start conflicting with the present obvious sightings.

I have been guilty of creating biased first impressions. However, over the years, some sanity prevailed; and I started looking beyond these first assumptions. Nowadays, I don’t get opinionated until I have interacted with a person, well-enough to form impressions.

So, are you a firm believer of Everlasting first impressions or transforming Last impressions? Pour your thoughts in the Comments section. I would love to hear your thoughts.